Trump Claims Hillary’s VP Pick is “Bought and Owned by the Banks”

GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump appeared on NBC's Meet the Press and spoke out on Hillary Clinton's running mate, Senator Tim Kaine. Trump made no bones about Kaine being "bought and owned by the banks."

"I was shocked. I love it from my standpoint." Trump said. "He's bought and owned by the banks."

Mr. Kaine’s positions on trade and recent letters to financial regulators immediately sparked sharp criticism by some groups, who went as far as saying the candidate’s stances “should be disqualifying.”

Critics specifically pointed to two recent letters released last Monday, which had been signed by Mr. Kaine, suggesting he may be inclined to ease regulations on midsize and smaller American banks. The letters were sent to regulators just days before Mrs. Clinton announced her choice of Mr. Kaine.

Not only did Trump tie Kaine to banks, but he also pointed out the senator's support for bad trade deals.

"He's in favor of TPP and every other trade deal that he's ever looked at," Trump said. "Now, he's going to change. Don't worry about that. It's OK. He is going to change his tune. And I understand he's now going to say, 'I'm against TPP.'"

"Hillary Clinton was totally in favor of TPP, which is the job killer, right?" Trump told host Chuck Todd. "So was he. When she watched me on your show and other shows, all of a sudden she changed, because she knows she can't win that in the debate."

Again, from The Wall Street Journal:

Over the weekend, Sen. Kaine made it clear he stands with Mrs. Clinton and Sen. Sanders on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying he couldn’t support the trade pact in its current form. Mr. Kaine’s comments marked a shift from remarks he made as recently as Thursday when he told reporters he saw a number of items he liked in the agreement.

Sen. Kaine was one of more than a dozen Senate Democrats who voted last year for fast track authority, which allows President Barack Obama to submit trade deals to Congress for a straight up-or-down vote, without any amendments.

He then blasted the Kaine for receiving gifts while he served as Virginia's governor.
"They said, 'Well, they weren't really gifts, they were suits and trips and lots of different things,' all for $160,000," he said.

In comparing Kaine to former Republican Governor Bob McDonnell, who was recently cleared of corruption charges for taking gifts while in office, Trump said, "I believe it was Bob McDonnell, in the meantime, he had to go to the United States Supreme Court to get out of going to jail," Trump noted.

"Bob McDonnell took a fraction of what Kaine took," added Trump. "And I think, to me, it's a big problem. Now, how do you take all these gifts? Hundreds of thousands of dollars."

Finally, Trump said that he believed the Kaine pick was nothing more than an establishment rebuke of Bernie Sanders.

"What happened with the choice of Tim Kaine was a slap in the face to Bernie Sanders and everybody," he said.